Capacitive touch sensors may be used to replace mechanical buttons, knobs and other similar mechanical user interface controls. The use of a capacitive sensor allows for the elimination of complicated mechanical switches and buttons, providing reliable operation under harsh conditions. In addition, capacitive sensors are widely used in modern customer applications, providing new user interface options in existing products. Capacitive touch sensors can be arranged in the form of a sensor array for a touch-sensing surface. When a conductive object, such as a finger, comes in contact or close proximity with the touch-sensing surface, the capacitance of one or more capacitive touch sensors changes. The capacitance changes of the capacitive touch sensors can be measured by an electrical circuit. The electrical circuit converts the measured capacitances of the capacitive touch sensors into digital values.
A capacitive touch sensor configured to detect an input, such as proximity or contact with a finger or other object, may have a capacitance CP between the sensor element and ground when no input is present. The capacitance CP is known as the parasitic capacitance of the sensor. For capacitive sensors having multiple sense elements, a mutual capacitance CM may also be present between two or more sense elements. An input detected by the sensor may cause a change in capacitance C that is much smaller than CP or CM, Accordingly, where the sensor capacitance is represented as a digital code, the parasitic or mutual capacitances may be represented by a larger proportion of the discrete capacitance levels resolvable by the digital code, while the capacitance change CF is represented by fewer of these discrete levels. In such cases, the capacitance change CF due to an input may not be resolvable to a high degree of resolution.
A problem associated with some capacitive sensing systems is the high power dissipation associated with the switching power required to access each row and column in an X-Y capacitance sensor array. While a large number of sensor elements may increase the accuracy or resolution of detection, the increased capacitance will result in greater power requirements.